THE MAID OF ORLEANS Tchaikovsky — Deutsche Oper am Rhein

In the grips of the Hundred Years War against England, the French find themselves in a difficult situation: Paris has fallen, Orléans is besieged, and their king, Charles VII, appears more interested in his affairs of the heart than those of the state. In this hopeless situation, the farmer’s daughter Joan announces that God has commissioned her to liberate Orléans. The ‘Maid of Orléans’ may be victorious in battle but loses her heart in passion to a Burgundian knight, Lionel. The flames consume a woman torn between love and her divine mission. Inspired by Schiller’s tragedy, Tchaikovsky wrote The Maid of Orleans about the famous French heroine between 1878 and 1879. While Schiller sees her as an innocent, momentarily tempted by love for Lionel, Tchaikovsky permits Joan to indulge fully in her love and then die in religious ecstasy. Here is a historical heroine with something of the Tatyana from Eugene Onegin about her. Tchaikovsky’s score is filled with the same passion, with orchestral tumult, grand choruses, and beautiful arias, many reserved for Joan herself. Deutsche Oper am Rhein’s 2023 production has been ecstatically received by audiences and critics alike for Elisabeth Stöppler’s powerful staging (of an opera with quite some dramatic challenges) and for the outstanding performance of Maria Kataeva as the heroine leading a top-class ensemble. Full performance streamed on OperaVision from 29 September 2023 at 19:00 CET to 29 March 2024 at 12:00 CET: CAST Joan of Arc Maria Kataeva Thibaut d’Arc Sami Luttinen Raymond Aleksandr Nesterenko Charles VII Sergej Khomov Agnes Sorel Luiza Fatyol The Archbishop Thorsten Grümbel Dunois Evez Abdulla Lionel Richard Šveda Bertrand Beniamin Pop Confessor Johannes Preißinger Lauret / a soldier Žilvinas Miškinis Angel Mara Guseynova Orchestra Düsseldorfer Symphoniker Chorus Chor der Deutschen Oper am Rhein Music Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Text Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Conductor Vitali Alekseenok Director Elisabeth Stöppler Sets Annika Haller Costumes Su Sigmund Lighting Volker Weinhart Chorus Master Gerhard Michalski Dramaturgy Anna Melcher OperaVision is a freeview opera streaming platform, supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme. Watch live streams as the performances themselves unfold in the opera house. Enjoy a variety of shows - including opera, operetta, musical theatre, dance, ballet and concerts. Opera connaisseur or curious newcomer, there is something for everyone on OperaVision. WEBSITE: FACEBOOK: TWITTER: INSTAGRAM: TIKTOK: @operavision